We get to build something from scratch and drive change

In 2018, SEB's innovation studio SEBx was established with the goal of exploring new business models and the latest technology. Within SEBx, a new platform was created focusing on Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS). After acquiring its first external client in 2022, the decision was made to scale up the concept, giving rise to a new business unit - SEB Embedded, which currently consists of a team of approximately 130 people, explains Emelie Magnusson, Deputy Head and Chief Product Officer. 

Continuing to explore

– Within the framework for SEBx, we were able to explore the idea of a new banking platform, which proved to have a great product-market fit. At SEB Embedded we can focus on scaling the product, where my role as Deputy Head and CPO involves overseeing product development and sales. This includes both the technology itself, but also any commercial aspects that fall across various product teams. 

– We are currently seeing a lot of fast changes within this area, which I mainly believe is to our advantage. However, the opportunities for SEB Embedded are also highly dependent on our ability to adapt to these new changes. With no blueprint on the market, ongoing research is still a significant part of our work. Building something entirely new is both challenging and highly motivating, as we get to drive change and have the opportunity to be pioneers among major banks in the Nordic region. We also get to deep dive into technology as we’re building all our services in Google Cloud and work with Java, Spring Boot, BigQuery, Vertex AI and Looker. Along with that, we also have several partnerships, for example with ThoughtMachine and Enfuce for CoreLedger and card processing. 

The team at SEB Embedded 

– The best part about working at SEB Embedded is undoubtedly the team. I have been with the bank since 2010, but I’ve never before been in a context where I get to work closely with individuals with such diverse knowledge and backgrounds. Our team consists of a range of different roles that are needed to build and operate a banking platform - everything from Web Developers and Data Analysts to Engineers and Architects. This offers new perspectives and the opportunity to learn about a wide range of topics, especially since we work in cross-functional teams. Therefore, I would say that humility and curiosity are good ways of describing our team.